Brazil were without a key player in arguably their most important pool play match in the women’s volleyball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics. Starting setter Macris Carneiro wasn’t available for selection against reigning world champions Serbia on Saturday due to a twisted ankle.
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Beach Volleyball
Roberta steps up for Brazil
The backup setter comes in to lead the South Americans to victory against reigning world champions Serbia
Published 01:25, 31 Jul 2021
But backup setter Roberta Ratzke wasn’t fazed by the huge responsibility of making her first-ever start at the Olympics against the Europeans. She led Brazil to a 3-1 win that kept them at the top of standings in Pool A with four wins in as many matches. The South Americans remain the only undefeated team in the competition, men and women included.
“I was thinking about the match the entire day,” she said at the end of the encounter. “But if I’m here it’s because I’m capable of delivering what Ze Roberto wants and that gave me confidence. Coming off the bench to replace Macris last match was a little difficult because we were all concerned with her injury. Today I could play more relaxed and focused and my teammates did a great job in helping me out. My playing style is a little different to her's. She likes to play faster and everyone was fantastic adjusting. Macris hugged me before we left the Village and it was awesome to get her support.”
Roberta’s game stood out because of a solid and diversified distribution that helped Brazil overcome Serbia’s potent blocking and defensive systems. Each of the team’s top three scorers scored in double digits with opposite Tandara Caixeta leading the way with 19 points, followed by outside hitters Fernanda Garay and Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimaraes, who had 17 and 12, respectively.
Tandara’s strong performance was the most impressive and came at a good moment after a slow start in Tokyo. The London 2012 Olympic champion seems to be picking up her best form ahead of the elimination round.
“We played together in the last club season and have great chemistry,” the 31-year-old Roberta said. “I trust her very much and told her to be ready because I’d set her a lot during the match. Maybe this change of pace was good for her. She had already played better last match and it’s great to see she’s only getting better and smiling on the court as she’s a really important player for our team.”
Tandara’s production was only surpassed by Serbian star opposite Tijana Boskovic, who tallied 32 points. The Brazilians knew that stopping one of the most powerful hitters in international volleyball would be a difficult task but still managed to put together and execute a game plan that allowed them to come out with a win despite Boskovic’s tremendous individual performance.
“Our focus was the most important thing. Switching from Japan, a shorter team that play faster, to Serbia, who have a lot of firepower and heavy hitters, required us to prepare completely differently. We knew Boskovic would score a lot of points but also that when we had a chance we had to block and dig her. We had to make some adjustments during the match but did a really good job and I’m very happy about the way we played.”
